Whisk first 9 ingredients in medium bowl. Slightly soften ice cream in microwave in 10-second intervals. Measure 1 cup ice cream; cover and freeze (reserve for another use). Spoon remaining ice cream into large bowl. Working quickly, add pumpkin mixture and fold just until swirled into ice cream (do not blend completely). If ice cream begins to melt, freeze until almost firm. Spoon ice cream filling into cooled crust, cover with plastic, and freeze until firm, at least 6 hours. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep frozen.

For bark, sauce, and topping:

Line baking sheet with parchment paper; spray with nonstick spray. Stir chocolate in bowl set over saucepan of simmering water until melted and smooth. Pour onto baking sheet. Using offset spatula, spread chocolate in even layer into 12x9-inch rectangle. Sprinkle with nuts. Place in freezer until hard, at least 30 minutes. Invert onto work surface. Peel off paper. Coarsely chop. Place DO AHEAD: Chocolate-almond bark can be made 2 days ahead. Keep frozen.

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Reviews

Making this for the 4th year in a row for Thanksgiving after my brother-in-law raved it's the "best pumpkin flavored thing he's ever eaten". One thing I learned after the first year is to use Breyers or a similarly "lighter" ice cream and not Haagen Dazs or something heavy. Texture with Breyers is much better. The bark IS worth the effort and gives it added texture and contrast so don't skip it!

This was an absolute hit for Thanksgiving dinner this evening! My 12 year old told me he could eat 15 pieces!
I DID double the spices as many other suggested. That's a must. In error I did not toast or chop the slivered almonds, but the bark was fantastic. I did chop up some Emerald cocoa dusted almonds and sprinkled them on top too. I made the toffee sauce and kept it on the side. It's sinfully yummy, but I ended up throwing most of it out since it really wasn't necessary. This is most definitely a keeper!

Made this for Christmas Dinner and it was a huge
hit - my husband said it was the best dessert he
has ever eaten! Simple to make - followed exactly
and it turned out perfect. The sauce and the bark
were easy to do and added a great touch!

Absolutely
delicious! A great finish for our Thanksgiving dinner.
Decided to make
everything from
scratch (except the
graham crackers) and
came out, following
the recipe to the
letter, just
perfect. I made it
with a homemade
vanilla-bean ice
cream (Gourmet, Aug
2003) and fresh
roasted pumpkin. All flavors came
together perfectly.

This was delicous, and the clear
winner at the christmas dessert
table. I made the recipe as is but
doubled the spices in the pumpkin
mixture. Next time I would spice up
the crust by maybe using a graham
cracker / gingersnap mixture. I will
also do away with the corn syrup,
and make my own carmel sauce. This
was very easy, and definitely a good
thing to make a day ahead.

My mom has made this for both Thanksgiving and now for Christmas. At Christmas, my grandad's aide who had had some of this pie at Thanksgiving stood next to me with a large piece of pie on her plate and practically body-slammed me for an even bigger piece. It's the fastest-disappearing pie ever. I am making it tomorrow night for New Years.

Really delicious. But I recommend using a whole 15-ounce can of pumpkin and maybe a bit less ice cream, and doubling all of the spices.
Also, getting all the temperatures right was really tricky. I'd advise against serving this right out of the freezer. If you freeze it overnight, moving it to the fridge a couple of hours before serving results in a better consistency, particularly if you end up using more pumpkin, because icy pumpkin is slightly unpleasant. If possible, put on the whipped cream and chocolate bark immediately before serving. And I had better results with the toffee sauce on my second try, when I served it at room temperature instead of hot.

Everyone loved this dessert. I used only 1 quart of icecream for a more intense pumpking flavor. The chocolate bark and sauce are nice, but you really don't need them. The cake is excellent on its own.

"Better than pumpkin pie," says my son-
in-law, now pumpkin pie-convert! Easy
to make ahead & the toffee sauce is
marvelous. I cheated and bought the
dark chocolate almond bark. Officially
a new tradition in this house!